Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son review by Iron Maiden

Sound — 10
1988, the year when Synths would come into full flow in Maiden songs. Even though you still have the classic Maiden sound, the synths add a whole new dimension which makes each track that so much better. SSOASS is not necesarily the album which brought Maiden to the peak of their career, (I think their peak is yet to come, maybe with AMOLAD)but the album which showed them at the peak of their creative abilities. There is some amazing guitar work and sounds on this album that Maiden fan or not. It would be crazy not to listen to and buy this album.

Lyrics — 10
I feel that this album shows Maiden's abilities to take Historic events and mythology and turn them into songs. Every track on SSOASS is a story which sometimes may leave you with a message or sometimes may leave you confused. The lyrics are so strong and creative, but not the greatest feature of the album.

Overall Impression — 10
Compared to all the other album's Maiden have released it's easy to say that this is in the top 3 of anyones list. Out of all 8 tracks their are some that obviously stand out as classic tracks including the legend it's self 'Can I Play With Madness?' but you will find when you listen to each song you will find that it is hard to choose which your favourite track is.
01. Moonchild - starts off with an accoustic passage giving this album's theme and then it builds into a fast rocker. Some great synth work in here and Bruce's vocals are really agressive. Solo's are good and feature some cool tapping in Adrian's solo.
02. Infinite Dreams - a good intro riff which breaks into harmony. Song starts off soft with some Hendrix style riffing behind the vocals. It then breaks into a heavy chorus. Great changes from soft to hard. a lot of cool harmony riffs and a cool solo which features both D and A.
03. Can I Play With Madness? - don't really have to say much about really. Awfulyl catchy chorus. Cool solo with the use of an octivider and some of Bruce's best vocals.
04. The Evil That Men Do - another awesome rocker. With the Main riff that even if you haven't heard this song you will for some reason recognise it. A catchy pre-chorus I think and a slow solo which sets the mood and really works.
05. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - Maiden tackle the 10 minute epic challenge, and succeed! They've done it before with Rime Of The Ancient Mariner and Alexander The Great, but this is the first time in which they create the story themselves. Wonderful musicianship throughout and some really good riffing.
06. The Prophecy - I think one of the best songs on the album even though people say it is the worst. It has a chordy intro riff which after 2 repeats comes in with some cool harmony bends. All throughout this song there are some awesome riffs which I class as being some of their best. A Cool solo from Dave and a really cool acoustic outro. Bruce sounds amazing here.
07. The Clairvoyant - as if the album couldn't get any better, coming in at 7, The Clairvoyant!. An amazing epic with some really great riffing. Starts with a cathcy bass riff. The solo is amazing, if not the best on the album. Bruce sounds spectacular.
08. Only The Good Die Young - this song is probably the worst on the album but it is still a good song. A cool harmony intro riff. End similar to Moonchild as if to say the whole album is one story which is pretty cool.
The riffs are unbelievable and The Clairvoyant solo totally blew me away. There is nothing to hate on this album apart from the fact there is only 8 songs on here which could be considered short, but quality not quantity. If it was stolen heck yes I'd buy it again.

it's really quite amazing how Steve Harris can write such complex songs, escpeacially the epics (eg. Phantom Of The Opera, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, Heaven Can Wait and this title track) he truly is an amazing composer, the best in metal